Hey y’all! My name is Sarah Olushoga. I’m 29, born in Houston and raised in Nigeria. Somewhere in middle school my family moved back to the states and I’ve since bounced around from Atlanta to NYC to now Charlotte. In this season, I’ve been finding joy in taking long evening walks with my boyfriend, experimenting with new recipes, and getting lost in stories about love. I am also the owner of Shoga, a new whipped body butter line made with clean and simple ingredients for all seasons.
I remember the day Ayorinde shared her vision for 20Something Stories and I’m so glad she listened to that voice and immediately got to work. Thank you for creating this space and tapping me to share a bit of my story!
the story
“…but what if no one likes it?”
“Will I even have time to follow through?”
“I wish I didn’t already tell so many people I was doing this.”
These were some of the thoughts that were holding me back from launching my whipped body butter line, Shoga.
Simply put, I was scared. I was scared to fail.
See failure has always been a fear of mine. From a very young age, I remember making it a goal to work hard and become successful in hopes that my father who walked out on my family when I was 4 years old (to start another) would somehow find out that I made it without him. I had to excel at everything I did to prove him wrong. I had to win every spelling bee. I had to book every lead role I auditioned for. I had to graduate college. I had to secure my first big girl job before crossing that stage. I had to do everything well because if I failed that would make him right for leaving us. That was my driving force for several years.
Somewhere along the line, something shifted for me. How can I continue to live my life for someone who couldn’t care any less if I was alive or not? And most importantly how can I allow this person to define what success means for me?
At that point I made the decision to start living life for Sarah. I started trying new things. I packed up my life in Atlanta and moved to NYC in 2018 for a new job and a fresh start. I only knew a handful of people in the city at the time and I was extremely terrified but regardless I was open to trying. I was meeting new people, exploring new hobbies and giving myself a chance to exist without the pressure of success or failure attached. I was simply having fun. I was so grateful to have been delivered from that mindset because honestly I felt trapped for so long. I was finally free — or so I thought.
As I started working on launching Shoga, I realized the work wasn’t finished and I still had quite a bit of reprogramming and unlearning to do.
the lesson
I've been working on Shoga since January of 2020. Like many of you, I set some goals for the year and getting my body butter out in the world was one of them. But as we know, the Vid pulled up and completely interrupted that plan. Not only was the world in shambles but my anxiety was also through the roof and fear became a consistent feeling. Launching this brand started to feel like the dumbest thing I could do as the timing just never felt right. As each day went by I felt less inclined to share my product. When friends and family would ask me about it, I would come up with different excuses for why I hadn’t made any progress towards launching — some valid and some were complete bullshit.
I was scared to fail.
Fast forward to fall of 2022, I came across this quote below and many more like it. It was as if every time I scrolled through socials the universe was yelling at me.
“The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”
So, I made an effort to quit doubting myself. I decided to just try and also focus on the truth. The truth is, everyone that has tested my product actually LOVES it and has been begging me to send them a link so they can stock up. The truth is, if I get busy and can’t keep up with this business at any point, I get to take a break for however long I need. The truth is, I am so glad I told my community I was doing this because the consistent text messages, calls and reviews are what held me accountable and pushed me to finally launch. The truth is, I’m still so scared but I am so happy and proud of myself for giving this a shot.
the light
At the time that I’m writing this, I’ve just announced my launch date and the amount of love Shoga has received is completely blowing my mind. Over 70 followers in less than 12 hrs - most of whom don’t even know what product I’m launching. I’m shook, and I am beyond grateful for the love and support. I am still working through my fears but right now, absolutely nothing can stop me. I’m so excited to have fun with Shoga and continue to share this product with the world. If you’re interested in a new body butter or simply want to follow the journey, head on over to my website or Instagram.
Remember, if there’s anything you’ve been wanting to do or have been scared to start, please just try and I promise everything else will follow. Because once you get started, it’s only up from there!